By Audrey Sheffield

Jonjo O'Neill in rehearsal. Photo: Ellie Kurtz.

At the end of the fifth week, concerns were raised about the running time of the play. The first half was one hour and twenty five minutes and the second, one hour and twenty minutes. Rupert and Lucy both felt that this was too long. On Monday morning, a 'new script' arrived. Lucy had made some small cuts throughout the play.

Ben Goldacre’s book Bad Pharma argues that vitally important information from clinical trials is still being withheld from doctors and patients. Here he responds to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s denial that his claims are true.

By Audrey Sheffield

Billie Piper in rehearsal. Photo: Ellie Kurtz

The start of this week saw more re-capping of scenes that had already been rehearsed, as well as work on one or two small sections that hadn't yet been put up on their feet. Two of the scenes that need more work than others, in terms of line-learning and familiarization, come towards the end of the play.

Dr. Emily Deans investigates the differences between the brain chemistry of men and women. Do these differences mean that men and women have a natural tendency to suffer from different problems with their mental health?

Reproducibility is the cornerstone of scientific experiment. If the results of an experiment can be reproduced more than once, then the results are assumed to be correct. Elizabeth Iorns explains why it is so important that the results of experiments are checked through replication.

By Audrey Sheffield

Tom Goodman-Hill in rehearsal. Photo:Ellie Kurtz

It has been another fascinating and productive week in rehearsals. There have been a number of parallel calls again. This is because the structure of the play being quite clearly divided between two plot strands and the two main relationships that run throughout.

Is the medical profession's ability to make decisions on the behalf of mentally ill patients a denial of their basic human rights? Elyn Saks talks about her own experience of suffering from schizophrenia.

By Audrey Sheffield

Jonjo O'Neill in rehearsal. Photo: Ellie Kurtz

This has been an incredibly productive and fascinating week. Lucy has distributed more re-writes. These have ranged from fine-tuning language, to clarifying logic and making certain character-driven changes.

Dr. Helen Fisher describes the correlation between the four styles of temperament: the Artist, the Guardian, the Idealist, and the Rational and their connection to the four chemical systems- Dopamine, Serotonin, Estrogen and Testosterone.

By Audrey Sheffield

Rehearsal room for The Effect. Photo: Ellie Kurtz

At the beginning of Week 2, new drafts of sections of the play arrived. Lucy was often away from rehearsals, working on the script. In rehearsal, the script was developed by reading through certain sections. Each section was then discussed by the actors, Rupert and Lucy. Then, where necessary, Lucy went away to work on re-writes.

Photography: Ellie Kurtz

By Audrey Sheffield

Rupert Goold and the company in rehearsal. Photo: Ellie Kurtz

On the Friday before rehearsals began, the Guardian published a controversial article by Ben Goldacre called ‘The drugs don't work: a modern medical scandal’. The article was related to his recently published book Bad Pharma and asked several provocative questions. How much do you and your doctor know about the drugs that you take? Can we trust the validity and efficacy of drugs trials themselves and of certain medication as treatment for particular conditions? This article was brought into rehearsals on the first day and often referred to during them.

By Maddy Wilson

After 45 minutes of being lost in a bleak industrial estate, I eventually discover Hammersmith Medicines Research at the end of an intersection, just off the Park Royal roundabout, adjacent to a factory building pumping flumes of smoke. The building is exactly what I expect: large, non-specific, stark and cold. I’m feeling a little trepidatious, to say the least.